


Dilectio

by Tillyfied



Category: Coronation Street
Genre: Gay, LGBT, M/M, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:08:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25051426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tillyfied/pseuds/Tillyfied
Summary: Todd had been MIA for 2 years , 6 months and 8 days .... but who's counting.Todd was.Billy was.Summer was.
Relationships: Todd Grimshaw/Billy Mayhew
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

"I really do love you so much" Billy said as he squeezed Todd's hand tighter. He was pale, so pale ... blood loss will do that to you. Todd, who felt sick with worry, was almost equally as pale.

Todd’s thumb brushed against the back of Billy’s hand. He felt cold.

"I ... I just can't believe the state of ya!" Todd replied as he met Billy's eyes. "Although, I must say ... I am enjoying the rather nice hospital gown you're wearing. Perhaps we can err ...." he looked around to make it more dramatic and then lowered his voice "steal one .... ya know ... for when we're at home". Todd hoped his humour was taking Billy’s mind off the pain. 

Billy managed a smile, his first that day. 

The sunlight reflecting off something on the table next to Billys hospital bed caught his eye. Todd realised it was the innocent looking item which had caused all this, Summers silver four leaf clover. Who knew luck could also be so deadly.

He picked it up and held it in his hand. 

"We should frame it!" 

"oh don't, Summer is really upset ... imagine if I'd ..." 

"Yeah well you didn't" Todd pointed at him "so ... maybe it'll be a constant reminder to us, the three of us, to not take life for granted ... or each other!" 

Billy nodded "Actually I think that's a lovely idea!" 

“Two inches further up and we’d have had to start calling you Willamena though!” Todd laughed but thank god not only was billy alive obviously but that he was entirely intact.   
  
“Stop it ... you’d still want me though right!” 

Todd placed it back onto the bed side table "absolutely not ... you know I’m only with ya for the sex. I keep telling you. Right ... Can't sit in 'ere all day chatting to you, I best get home to Summer, check she's OK!" 

"Yeah definitely. Make sure she understands that I don't blame her in anyway Todd... that's important OK. After her Dad and everything this is just one more thing she didn't need!” 

"Yeah sure...."

"It's important Todd ..." 

"yesssss" Todd emphasised the SSSS "Someone's a lot perkier now they're bossing me around ... Hmmm. I will tell her and I will bring her in later so you can also tell her yourself, hows that?" 

"Perfect" 

Todd kissed Billy on his forehead, winked and then headed out of his hospital room.

As he closed the door behind him he leant his entire weight on it for a moment to catch his thoughts. He could have died, he could have died. But he didn’t. But he could have. For years Todd had been meandering through his adult life, no purpose, no proper job, no partner. Till Billy, everything since Billy had kind of fitted into place, he and Summer was his life and the thought of losing that. A chill ran down his spine. 

Todd sighed, he really did need to get home. Summer would be beside herself. As he walked down the corridor towards the exit he approached the nurses station , he stopped, looked at the name badge on the nurse who was standing nearest to him and said 

"Excuse me ... err Simon." Simon looked up from his papers "Please keep ya eye on him ... " Todd nodded to Billy's room "he may be a vicar but God sure as hell don't half like to make him work for it" 

"We will" Simon replied "You're Todd right?" 

Todd narrowed his eyes "Right, what's he been saying about me!" 

Another nurse, female, flew across on her chair from one side of the desk to the other, the side Todd was standing by "he is sooooo in love with you, oh my god!" She said whilst chewing on gum "Todd this, Todd that, been here less than half a day and we all felt like we knew ya. I swear the only decent blokes out there these days are gay!" 

Todd smiled the whole way home 

\--- //// ----

Todd wished he could go back to that moment, 2 years, 6 months and 8 days ago, by Billy's side in that hospital bed. He couldn’t believe it had been that long. 

He’d do everything differently, he would, he would do EVERYTHING so differently. He wouldn't listen to other people, Phelan, Adam ... they all told him he should go. He knew they'd pretended they hadn't, that they had no idea where he'd gone to, but they did.   
  


He thought back to that day, just as he’d gotten home from the hospital, Adam had been waiting for him. Every moment of this memory was in perfect detail in his mind. 

"How could you?" 

Adam had explained that he knew, he knew about Billy's involvement in the death of his Mum, of Susan Barlow. All those years ago. 

"But how? "

"Your boyfriend, unable to keep his mouth shut ... told Peter everything when he thought he was going to die ... you kept it from me!" 

"Adam I had to ... put yourself in my shoes ... we ... I, had so much to lose, Summer, I can't lose her Adam. Billy would go to jail , Summer would go into care, or worse ... back to her grandparents"

"My mum Todd ... MY MUM!!" 

Todd could see fire in Adam's eyes, he'd never seen him like this before. "Wha ....what you going to do Adam?" silence " WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ADAM??!!" Todd shouted. His voice echoed down coronation street in the darkness.

Todd couldn't control this, for the first time in his life there was a situation presented to him that he was simply unable to control. "Ok, Ok .... don't go to the police Adam, I beg you OK. Don't go to the police. Billy is a different man now ... he's not that person, he wasn't even driving" Todd made Adam look him in the eye "He wasn't driving Adam" 

"HE WAS THERE!!! And you’ve covered for him. You’d both go to prison. One word from me, or my family and the both of you are finished. You need to go ... "

"Wha .. where? Go where?" 

"If you don't go ... I just really want to hurt him Todd, and you ... you kept asking me all those questions about my mum the other day and all this time you knew. YOU KNEW. You need to leave for your own safety, right now the better judgement in me is giving you a chance. But tomorrow, I may call the police, I may watch as social services come in and take Summer away from you. And I may do all of that whilst smiling. So leave. And if you have any sense you won't come back. He took away my mum from me, I'll take you and Summer away from him.” 

He'd done everything Adam had asked, he'd stayed away ... apart from Summer. It wasn't fair, she didn't understand. She'd thought them running away was because of Billy punching Peter Barlow. 

"Summer there's just more to this then I can explain" he'd said to her, how could he expect her to live on the run forever. "The run". He grimaced at that thought, he'd been branded a criminal just simply because Summer wasn't legally his daughter and there were laws about him taking her away from Billy's care.

He would be arrested as soon as he put foot in weatherfield now. He had been prepared to do what it took. Phelan had organised them money, new identities, new passports, for Billy too. They'd wait it out, get Billy to come meet them and escape, anywhere, didn't matter as long as they were together. 

"Everything was supposed to be so much easier for you once you came to live with us, but somehow we've just made everything worse" 

He'd sat down on the sofa next to her one evening. They'd been renting a small annex of a cottage off this elderly couple for 5 weeks, Todd knew it was time to put all this to an end. This madness, this utter madness where he felt like he was a character in a soap opera and not one single part of his life was making any fucking sense! 

"Bad things happen to good people I guess" Summer had shrugged "But, can we all be together again already, like a proper family. And I'd like to go back to school, hang around with kids...people my own age" 

Todd glanced at the stack of papers on the table in front of them, their fake identities, the gateway to a whole new life. He shook his head, what a ridiculous idea it had all been. 

"I know ... this isn't right, it's not right for you. None of this is right. I should never have left ... I .... I should have fought harder, Billy's a good man, there was no evidence accept the confession of a man on the brink of death, that wouldn't have stood up in court. I was stupid....stupid!!" 

"What wouldn't have stood up in court? Billy hitting Peter? Billy already went to court for that ... you said it wasn’t about that!" 

"It's not .... look" 

So Todd had told her the truth, about Billy's involvement in the death of Susan Barlow, no more lies ... if Summer was to understand then she needed to know everything "he's a good man" Todd kept saying over and over "he's a good man, he's a good man" 

"So are you!" Replied Summer, she had already been hugging him but she hugged him tighter, feeling that this was going to be their last evening together. She could hear it in Todd’s voice. Her legs dangling nervously off the sofa, she knew there was more, much more that Todd was going to say. And there was, she didn’t like any of it. In fact she hated it. 

"I won't leave you!" 

"You must ... " 

"You'll come home eventually though right?!" She wiped tears from her eyes but they came back with more force.

Todd had shook his head "Maybe, one day ... I don't know, right now I can't. They won’t let you stay with me, not now. Without me, you and Billy have a chance to stay together!” 

“What do I say to Billy?" She had said through tears 

"I don't know , this is all so messed up. I just want to go home. With you. With Billy. Go back two months , ya know ... " 

He really missed her, he’d only known her for six months at that point and even now having not seen her for two and half years, he missed her so much.   
  
He still didn’t know what she’d said to Billy that morning, when he’d dropped her off at the meeting place he’d arranged. He’d told Billy they were going to go away, together as a family. He was sure Billy could tell he was lying by the tone of his voice on the phone. It had been the first time they’d spoken in weeks, Billy had talked excitedly, ... Todd barely said anything other than that he loved him.

But the look on Billy’s face as Todd watched him waiting for him to arrive told him differently. Billy hadn’t suspected at all that Todd had been lying, Todd’s heart ached.

He loved them both too much to let them live the rest of their lives in hiding. He didn’t watch for long, he couldn’t but he saw Billy sitting on a bench, his eyes lit up as Summer came towards him and then his eyes went dark. Nothing. As Billy looked behind her clearly looking for Todd. Hoping ... wanting. 

Summer was talking, telling Billy and his mum some story as to why Todd hadn’t turned up. He’d told her to lie, that he didn’t want to know what, but just to make it awful. “Billy must think the worst” he’d said. 

He expected her to say he’d found someone else, didn’t want to be with either of them anymore, it wasn’t the life he wanted. That would do it, that would hurt Billy enough not to come looking for him. 

He’d wanted to get out the car and run (fast walk, Todd didn’t run) over to them. To change his mind, that somehow they would come out of this. But he hadn’t. Because he knew there was no way he was getting back into the life he’d left behind. Not until the Barlow’s could be reasoned with. He’d turned on the engine and driven away, not knowing where he was going or how long for. Just knowing that for now, they were safer without him.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

He wasn't unhappy, to have said that he was unhappy would have been a lie.To the casual observer, or even to the more thorough observer, Billy would appear to be the happiest man alive, but for him to admit this to be true would also have been a lie. It was all a charade, a smoke screen.

He was just kind of numb. Neither happy or sad, often not wanting to feel any extreme of either emotion, never wanting to be too happy or too sad, just neutral. The only thing that broke this rule truly was Summer.

Her school work was exemplary, a model student, already thinking about where she wanted to study at university. Billy loved her so much, life with her was just pure happiness.

"You'll miss me" she'd said one afternoon as they'd been glancing through university literature. She was two years away yet, hadn't even started her A Levels.

"Everyday" he'd replied

She was what was keeping him going. His reason for getting out of bed each morning, even his job had lost all kind of purpose to him.

Sitting on the sofa, his legs crossed under his body, his framed metal four leaf clover on his lap, he glanced up over to the sink where a mountain of washing up spanning two days worth of cooking was making a home for itself.

Summer hated it, but Billy had asked her not to touch it.

It was Paul's job. They each had their roles in the flat, Billy would mainly cook, Summer would set the table and dry up, Paul would wash. Lately, it had become Billy's job to do everything, Summer busy with school work would barricade herself away in her room, which was fine, but he now felt like he had two children in the house.

"What exactly do you do around here?" Billy had asked of him one evening when Paul had stumbled in late from the pub. "Do you even care about me or is this just a roof over your head?"

He'd started to sleep on the sofa since that night. He really only had himself to blame. This wasn't the right relationship for him, he knew this. It had just been something to fill a gap, the loneliness. But ... how strange that he felt even more lonely being with someone than he had ever felt in those months after Todd had left. 

Todd had left .... he traced his fingers over the four leaf clover contained in it's glass box ... "Todd left us" he muttered. 

SLAM!

Billy closed his eyes as the sound of the bedroom door behind him made him jump

"Wha didn' ya wake me ... I'm late fa work!" Paul slobbed his way into the living room, glancing at the kitchen and sighing "ya making a statement with not touching that lot aren't ya!"

"I'm tired!" Billy replied, not even looking at him "aren't you tired of this? Of us? I think we need a break" billy had been frightened to say this, he was worried what with Paul's past as to what a break up would mean to him mentally.

"Thought ya were meant to be a caring man!" Paul replied as he hunted the room for his shoes.

"I do care ... I'd never see you out on the streets, but can you honestly tell me that this life is making you happy?" Billy now looked over at him. An angry face stared back at him. "Because it isn't making me happy Paul".

"Like I could ever live up to him anyway!" Paul pointed at the clover Billy was holding in his hand. Billy suddenly felt guilty for looking at it.

"Neither of us are present in this relationship, it's a two way street, we've both got faults. I just think ... a break, reassess whether this is what we both want...."Billy tailed off, scanning the room he could see that Paul had already left.

It was his own fault, it wasn't Paul's, he couldn't blame him. He didn't understand how he'd gotten here, in a relationship with someone he could barely even be friends with let alone a lover to. Every single part of this relationship was hard work. It had never been like that with anyone else ... most of all Todd.

It would have been unusual for him to have had the sofa to himself as he had now when he lived with Todd.

Todd would often squeeze in beside him, get Billy to wrap his arm around him as they both either looked at their phones or carried on with the latest TV series they were into.Some nights it seemed transition-less,one minute Billy sat on his own whilst Todd washed dishes and within the blink of an eye Todd beside him, their feet up on the table, him running his fingers through Todd's hair.

"How did this happen?" Billy would say after he'd been rubbing Todd's scalp for a full twenty minutes. The program Billy had been watching changed seamlessly to the next episode of Ru Paul's Drag race, which Billy would protest he hated, then scream and shout at the telly throughout, much to the odd wry smile from Todd.

"How was your day?" Billy would ask at some stage in the evening. Knowing full well the answer would take Todd at least 20 minutes to reply to.

Mainly Todd would moan about Adam. Once he'd raged for half an hour about an egg sandwich Adam had eaten at his desk opposite. "Should be banned" Todd had explained, his arms waving in the air frantically as he got more agitated "public health act" was also shouted out.

"Shh hh " Billy had had to say to him as the climatic moment in their show had come on

"Oh aye, thought you hated this show?"

"Well .... I've watched it now, need to know who goes through!" Billy would say with a , "alright I do like this show" smile ...

Billy smiled to himself at the memories, gosh he missed him.But he had left, over two and a half years ago and Billy hadn't seen him since. He'd thought they were destined to grow old together, how wrong he'd been.

"I heard you arguing again last night" Summer had appeared in the kitchen, her voice made him jolt in the sofa. Dressed in her school uniform, she began preparing her lunch.

"Sorry Summer, I should have made your lunch ... I just ..."

"It's fine ... it's just a sandwich!"

"And me and Paul ...."

"Dad always used to say, never be in any relationship where you are sad more often than you are happy. I think he meant my grandparents when he said that though to be honest, but ... it seems a good rule for life" she interrupted as she looked around the pile of washing up for a box to pack her lunch into.

"I thought you liked Paul ..." Billy turned in the sofa to face her, half of his worry for ending the relationship had been the impact on Summer. Another change.

She shrugged her shoulders "He's alright, I mean ... he feels like more of a friend then a parental figure .... I just want you to be happy, Guncle Billy" She smirked, she knew Billy loved being called Guncle."Are you not at work today?" Summer asked as she put her shoes on.

Billy was still in his dressing gown and pyjamas, bedding wrapped round him, tea in hand, another night on the couch, she said to herself.

"I'm going to take this week off ...need to think" he replied , sipping noisily, nervously, at his cup.

Summer gave him a thumbs up "well I have double science and maths today, so , that's a yey for me .... enjoy your day off!"

Billy smiled "you too sweetheart." He turned as she left, to look at the mountain of washing up, he did not have the energy for that right now. But he sighed, he should at least get dressed, try and tackle the day to some degree.

As he reached the doorway to the bedroom, he couldn't help notice that Summer had left the lid of her laptop open on her bed. The screen still on. Must have been on it before school, he tutted to himself, they had a rule about that.

He couldn't stop himself from glancing at the screen as he went to close it, a google search page. Summer had been searching the name "Simon Peterson". He didn't know anyone by that name, maybe a boy she fancied at school perhaps?

He checked her search history, she hadn't ever deleted it, for over two years she'd been searching that name constantly. How did he not know who this was. Was it a celebrity she liked?God knows how many times a week Billy Googled Chris Hemsworth.

He googled the name himself ... nothing jumped out at him. This didn't make any sense. Why would she be searching this name everyday for the past two years. He scratched his beard.

He hit the enter button again in the search box, "one last time then I really do need to get showered and dressed" he said to himself. A new entry appeared ... posted three minutes ago. An Irish newspaper article. Billy read with horrified interest.

—-//////—-

ONE WEEK EARLIER

<Drip>

He wasn't sure how long it had been now. In the beginning he'd scratched tally charts into the wall, he'd found the idea slightly humerus, this is what happened in films, not to him, not a real life person. He'd tallied up a total of fifty days before he'd stopped.

Not that he was completely aware of when it was night or day. The only little bit of light he had came through a crack in the boarded up window, so it was mainly guess work.He didn't find it funny anymore, he'd stopped finding it funny after he'd tallied up two days on the wall, now, he mainly just cried. But that activity was now using up valuable energy, the very little energy he had left.

<Drip>

Boarded up from the outside the only window in the room was far too high for him to reach, god had he tried. He'd tried everything. Digging the floor, cutting out the bricks in the wall, reaching the window, shouting, screaming.

Once he'd come close to reaching the trap door that mocked him from a good 25 foot above his head. And even if he did reach it, he knew it would be bolted from the other side, so then what ... what was his big master plan after getting that far?

<Drip>

Most of his day was spent in darkness. He allowed himself a half hour of light everyday, or at least what he believed to be half an hour.He'd found a lamp and some lamp oil and a torch in the drawer unit in the corner. How tempting it had been to set fire to the room, burn it down, him inside, yes there'd be pain, but then nothing ... it would end .... this. would. end.

<Drip>

The only thing he hadn't been short of was food and water. Stacked into the corner of the room had been boxes and boxes of supplies. Todd had pondered long and hard as to why Phelan would have stored so much of that down here.

Obvious really, Todd had decided, if you took himself out of the equation. This room had never been meant for him. He assumed this was a basement to a much larger house, a nice hideaway for Phelan himself perhaps, maybe without the boarded up window. That had happened on day two after he'd put him here. The first day, Todd had woken up to a well lit room, the window was quite large, there was a bed, a toilet even behind another door in the corner. Quite the luxury pad, except for the damp, the smell and the imprisonment aspect of course.

<Drip>

But in the constant dark it was terrifying, it leaked when it rained, it was cold in the winter and sweltering in the summer, it smelt, it was damp and Todd was constantly ill. He knew hisbody wouldn't last much longer here, he could feel life literally slipping away from him. And in honesty that gave him comfort, knowing that this would soon be over. He'd fought for so long now, and he was tired ... so so tired.

During the daytime his eyes could adjust somewhat to the small crack of light from the window, he could make out shapes in the room, he could eat, find his way to the toilet. In the night time, depending on the moonlight, he often couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

All he had were his thoughts , his constant thoughts of home and family. How worried everyone must be, had they given up looking for him by now though he wondered. Was he already presumed dead? Were they even looking for him? Had Phelan been caught, was he in prison, did those he loved even know that he'd been involved in Todd's disappearance? Was Phelan behind bars right now laughing at the thought of him perishing away?

<Drip>

Pat ... he'd said he was going to bring him home to come get him. He'd made regular calls to Phelan, to pass on, to let everyone know he was OK, that he loved them. He'd asked Summer to convince Billy that he'd left, that he didn't want to be part of their family anymore. But he's regretted that soon after saying goodbye.

He'd asked Phelan to make sure Billy knew the truth. That he hated this. That he'd wanted to come home, but not till things with the Barlows had calmed down ... not till he knew social services couldn't take Summer away from Billy. And Phelan had told him, he had, and now it was time, time to come home.

<Drip>

Phelan had arranged the place to meet, he'd been there ready waiting as Todd had pulled up in his car. Already he could feel something in the atmosphere, something strange about Pat's demeanour.

He'd smiled as Todd had approached, a suspicious act in itself and as he'd walked closer to him, Todd knew something wasn't right.

"How's Mum? Billy?? Summer?" Todd had asked, looking at Phelan for a sign of a bag, a change of clothes for him like he'd asked, money so he could pay for a flight home. "Do you have ma stuff ... my passport, a change of clothes?"

"There's been a change of plans Todd"

"What you on about?" Todd shifted uneasily on his feet.

"I killed Vinny" Pat replies quite gleefully "but I don't need to tell you that Todd, you already knew, didn't you?" 

"Pat .... I really don't care about any of that... "

"So you did know..."

"I mean I suspected ... yeah, look, if you hadn't of killed him he'd of killed you, right? What's the big deal, like I said, I don't care about that!"

"And Andy?"

Todd look puzzled "Andy who? What does this have to do with me? Look, let's just get back home like we arranged yeah?" There was no way Todd was going anywhere with him, but other than talking to him he didn't know what else to do.

"Sorry, I can't do that Todd. And, it really does pain me to have to do this ... I've always liked you, you should know that"

It was only now that Todd noticed Pat had his hands behind his back.

"Pains you to do .what .....

<SMACK>

He'd blacked out. A spade perhaps, big shovel ... whatever it had been it had hurt like hell. When he'd woken, he was lying on a small single bed, in the square room with stone walls he'd spent the last , however many days as he'd lost count, since

"PAT!" He shouted. He could hear creaking above him, floorboards. He looked up. Was under a house? Yes, deep under a house and there was a trap door central into the room above him. Far too high to reach.

"PAAATTTTT!!!"

The trap door above opened and Pat's face appeared at the side. Todd saw up into the room above. 

"Wakey wakey"

"What you playin' at, what is this?"

"Calm down ..."

"CALM DOWN!!!"

"Now, I have no intention of hurting you Todd, I promise. On my life, I promise. I just need to get a few things in order and then I'll be outta your life, outta ya mam's. I'll leave ya be, OK? Just a few days."

"You're insane"

"That's quite the compliment from you Todd, thank you! I'm a man of my word, you know that. I won't hurt you, I just couldn't have you spouting your little mouth off to Eileen..." 

"I haven't spoken to her since Christmas ... "

"I'm this close " Pat pinched his fingers together "to being out of everyones life, no one has to know ... but that Windass...."

"I DON'T CARE PAT .... I don't care about Vinny, I don't care about Andy. All I care about is me, Billy, Summer, ma Mum, our Jase ... Just let me out!"

The last he'd seen of Pat was him shaking his head as the trap door had been closed and locked. Next day the window had been boarded up.

Todd didn't understand, he hadn't left him here to die, that wasn't Pat's style, and all the food ... all the food and drink. OK, it wasn't a banquet, mainly tinned food, fish .. but it had been enough ... if rationed well, to keep a man alive for a couple of years ... well, just over a couple. It had been ten days since Todd had last eaten anything.

Every day he imagined new ways to kill himself. But he panicked at the idea of him being so useless at killing himself and not dying, just being horribly injured, dying slowly from hunger AND in pain. The only thing keeping him going was his family.

He'd tried throwing things at the window, was it even on the street, or was it into a room above? He never heard cars, people, all he ever heard were night animals. He had no idea where he was, if anyone could hear him , but he threw things anyway. 

<Drip>

What if he died here and no one ever knew, what if his body wasn't found until after all his family were dead? He cried, he cried a lot. He cried himself to sleep, at least when he was asleep he wasn't hungry.

————————

"Is he alive?"

"Barely, but there is a pulse."

"How long do you reckon he's been down here?"

"A year .. two?? Look at all the empty tins and bottles!"

"Can you hear us ?... an ambulance is on it's way!"

Todd slipped in and out of consciousness, he was unsure how long it had been now since he'd last eaten. Faces appeared in front of him, unrecognisable faces. When he closed his eyes he saw home, pictures of Billy, his mum, Summer flashed in front of him. He wanted to go to them, maybe if he just let himself drift further he would be able to go home, no more pain, no more pain ... a comfortable darkness. It was too painful to keep hanging onto life.

"Can you tell us your name ... ?"

—- beeeeeppppp —-

"We need to resuscitate , everyone stand clear ... "

—- beeeeeeppppppp —-

Whilst everyone around him the ambulance panicked and fed lines into his arms, Todd had never felt more at peace. Home.

—————————————

Todd gasped awake. Light so bright it made his eyes hurt streamed in through a gap in the curtain next to his bed.

He purses his lips, so dry dry, his body weak. He attempted to lift up his arm but he could barely move it. Scanning his surroundings, lots of white ... a hospital, he figured. Relief hit him hard, he wanted to cry, but no tears came. He was alive ...

"He's awake ... " a nurse near his bed came closer to him "Hi there Simon" she said as she closed the curtain closer too. "Please don't open these" she remarked to another nurse. 

"Hi ...." Todd's voice was croaky, he felt like it no longer belonged to him. Someone else's voice now filled his body.

"I need to go and get some people ... but, for now, you're doing really well, you're stats are improving" She noticed Todd looking at all the wires going into him "we're giving you saline solution, monitoring your heart, it's all good. Everyday you've been getting better!" 

"How long ..."

"Six days ..." she said slowly "we've kept you sedated, for the shock ... now I need to go and get your doctor." She tapped his bed sheets as she left.

Todd tried to sit up as she walked off into the distance, his eyes blurred as she walked away. They stang ... even the dim light in the room was hurting his eyes, they'd gotten so used to darkness. He couldn't sit, his muscles simply did not want to work anymore, he gave up ... as he caught the eye of the patient in the bed opposite him they raised a thumbs up towards him.

"Welcome to the land of the living my friend!"

He detected an Irish accent ... 

He dipped back into a sleep as he remembered that Ireland was where he'd fled to, where he'd contacted Phelan from in the first place. It made sense that this is where the hospital would be. No one knew who he really was, he thought, she'd called him Simon.

"Hi ..." Todd was forced back awake as a young male doctor approached Todd's bed. "I bet you have a lot of questions, but let me try and answer a few for you so you don't have to speak" the doctor looked behind him as another man came closer to him "this is detective Broadbent"

"Call me Harry!" He waved his hand in the air, although despite the wave Todd didn't sense his tone was friendly.

"He'll need to ask some questions" the doctor continued "from my side, you should know that you're doing remarkably well considering what you've been through. On the way here, in the ambulance you died twice. You were resuscitated, you'll probably feel a tightness in your chest for a few days. You're incredibly lucky to be alive. You've put up a real fight." The doctor smiled.

Todd examined his face, under different circumstances he probably would have been flirting with him right about now "We need to start getting you onto some liquid food as soon as possible. I'd like to try this afternoon, see how you go. And then we can move onto solids when we know your body will tolerate it. We also need to get you out of this bed, moving around , getting those muscles back working again. You've also got a respiratory infection, hence the cough" Todd didn't even remember a time before the cough "but we're treating that"

Todd mustered a nod as the doctor looked towards Harry standing next to him.

"Can you tell us your name son? We found a bag in the house where you were found, had a passport and drivers license in it, with your face on, in the name of a Simon Peterson, but we're pretty sure they're both fake and the house we found you in is registered to a man who doesn't even seem to exist! All seems very .... suspicious!"

"Too ..... Todd .... Grimshaw .... !" 

Harry made some notes in a notebook "we found you in a basement. Do you remember?" Todd nodded "how did you end up in there. Was it deliberate ? All that food you'd stored!"

Todd shook his head "not mine ... Phelan's ... how .... how , find ...."

"How did we find you? Luck, Mr Grimshaw. It seems unpaid utility bills were starting to pile up, several companies reported the owner to bailiffs for none payment ... they forced entry. Do you have any idea where this property is Mr Grimshaw?" 

Todd mouthed the word "no"

"Middle of nowhere, you could scream for days and no one would hear you. You probably did, right? Two days they'd been in the property repossessing furniture before they noticed the trap door. There was a door too, they found, with steps leading out from the room, to the outside. But it seems someone had bricked that up. We believe the trap door was installed recently, the original access to that room was always by the door."

"Me mam ... Billy!"

"Family? Sure ... we will contact them ... do you know how long you've been down there Mr Grimshaw? What's the last date you remember?" 

"Is this an interrogation? " the doctor interrupted " please remember what he's been through, the trauma. Could you, you know ask the questions more gently?"

"This is the only way I know how to do my job. I wouldn't try to tell you how to do yours!" Harry replied

"March .... " todd replied. When he met with Phelan it had been mid March.

"The year? "

"2018!"

Harry and the doctor glanced at each other "it's 2020 Todd!" the doctor spoke as he placed a reassuring hand on Todd's arm. "I think he needs some rest now!"

"Ok ... look, let's contact your family ... but we still have so much to discuss. Someone is responsible for leaving you down there ... and why did you have fake ID? You may have been through an ordeal Mr Grimshaw but you were obviously no innocent party before this. "

"Pat Phelan!"

Harry frantically made more notes ... "OK ... I can work on that. And I also need your birthday and address Todd, so I can make arrangements for your family to be contacted.

——————-

"What do you reckon Eileen, the pink flowery shirt or the pink flowery shirt with sequins."

Sean paraded through the lounge flashing both shirt options on their hangers at her as she flicked through a magazine. She'd regretted asking Sean to move back in with her by the second day, but she couldn't deny she did like the aspect of not being in the house totally alone. She just had to imagine the bickering with Todd and then everything was almost like normal.

"Hot date is it?"

"Maybe ... that's not answering my question though"

"What if I want to say neither, or that they're both as equally hideous as each other!"

"Hmmppphhh" Sean stomped his feet like a stroppy child as he looked over both shirts again "I think they're both rather debonair!" 

"Hmmm" Eileen replied as the doorbell went "no! no! I'll get it" she said "please, I need a break. "

Her humour vanished quickly from her face as she opened the door, two police officers standing in front of her. 

"Who is it?" Sean bellowed from the lounge

"Mrs Grimshaw?"

"Yes" Eileen replied puzzled "ya know, this normally only happens when it's concerning my son Todd. But seeing as I haven't heard .... " she stopped talking when she noticed the look on one of the officers face "this is about todd?"

They both nodded "it's best that we discuss this inside!"

Eileen walked them both into the lounge "it's about Todd!" Eileen uttered to Sean, visible tears in her eyes ... Todd ... my Todd.." she turned to them, tears running down her cheek "I can tell by her face it's not good news, so come on ... "

"Your son is alive Mrs Grimshaw ..." the officer replied to reassure.

There was a sigh of relief from both Eileen and Sean and then Eileen's face changed to anger as she burst out wailing ... "you know where he is though don't you? Come on then, Because I do actually want to flaming kill him for what he's put us all through! "

"You should sit down ... "

"No come on ... whats he been up to? Robbing banks, skiing in the alps ... what was the face for if he's been found alive and well, clearly up to no good if it's brought you to my door?!"

"Well, he's not well actually" the officer now spoke "He's in a hospital in an Irish town called " he checked his notes "Beaumont"

"Hospital? Why what's happened! What's he been up to?" Eileen did now sit down.

"Erm, I don't really know how to tell you this Mrs Grimshaw. I've never had to break news like this before ... but he was found in an old farmhouse, unconscious, last week and has been recovering in hospital since."

"I don't understand ..."

"It appears your husband " 

"Dead, Ex husband ... " Eileen corrected

"Mr Pat Phelan" the officer continued reading his notes "purchased the property under a false name ... he err ... it appears, he had locked your son in an underground basement there, shortly before his death."

Eileen froze ... Sean fell backwards into the sideboard as the news sank in

"You mean this whole time ... "

"This whole time ... "Eileen turned to face Sean "THIS WHOLE TIME !!!! Sean, Pat said he knew where he was, I thought he was lying. I didn't believe him." She turned to the police "he'd told me so many lies, I just ... I didn't believe him"

"The whole time" sean repeated

"But that means ... for over two years?" Eileen cupped her hand to her mouth feeling nauseous. 

The female officer nodded. 

Eileen shook her head "I need to get to him immediately. I need a flight, the next flight" Eileen was shaking, trembling, she thought she might pass out "my son .... I thought the worst of him, I've been so angry and all this time. The whole time ... Sean please get me on the next flight." Eileen then looked at the officers "How on Earth has he stayed alive all this time if he was locked .... ?" 

"Mrs Grimshaw here's the number for his ward" the officer interrupted , handing over a card ... "this is his doctors name. They've said he's very stable and doing very well, but he can't talk much and he's very weak. I don't know all the details I'm afraid but they will. I would expect they'll have him transferred to Weatherfield as soon as possible now they know who he is" the officer could see Eileen needed more information "Our understanding is that the room he was in had provisions, food, water ... seems your husband was planning on using it as a hideaway. The local police do think he intended to come back ... the way he'd left the house did give the impression that he hadn't meant for Todd to stay there or for him to not return!"

Eileen wiped tears from her eyes, mascara stained the sleeves of her cardigan. "He err , died here in this town before he could get back to him ... Sean ... " she weeped Sean's name as he came to sit next to her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her.

——————-

At the same time as the police were knocking on Eileen's door, Summer was letting herself into the flat, from school.

She noticed the room had been cleaned, the washing up done and put away, a lovely clean smell hit her nostrils, she smiled. Her smile soon faded as she noticed Billy was sitting on the couch, arms folded, her laptop on the table in front of him.

She went cold. She'd not closed her laptop before school, damn it.

"So, Billy uttered in his best dad voice, who is Simon Peterson?" 

"Can't believe you've been on my laptop, I wouldn't go through your phone. It's private!" She dumped here bag onto the table angrily.

Billy knew she had a point, he'd dreaded having this conversation with her , but searching this name everyday for two years was obsessive, unhealthy ... and really not like her.

"I am sorry. Your laptop was open, I couldn't help myself when I saw your browser ... what's going on"

"He's just a boy I like at school that's all"

"I don't believe ya! You've never mentioned a Simon to me ever other than the Barlow kid, I can't see any celebrities by that name. The only thing I can find is some bizarre story that sounds like it's right out of a Stephen King novel. About a man being kidnapped for two and a half years in some basement!"

"Wait! what?" Summer walked quickly to her laptop and started typing, she clicked as her eyes darted the screen with horror. 

"It's insane, that poor man ... two and a half years ... eating tinned fish ... you know they

found nail scratches in the wall like he'd tried to scratch the bricks right out of the wall. Awful. It's at times like this that I really do start to doubt my faith, if god really does ... "

"It's Todd ... "

"What is ... you've found something about Todd!" Billy suddenly sat forward. 

"No, Simon Peterson. It's the name Todd gave himself , his fake identity, I promised I wouldn't tell you ... this story is Todd ... this all happened to Todd"

The images the paper had printed of the room in the article flashed in front of Billy's eyes, his stomach turned till it knotted entirely and he vomited all over the living room carpet in front of him.


End file.
